An elderly man with cancer and his neighbours were left to walk long distances home after they could not get parking permits closer by.

Ian Wood, 72, lives in the almshouses on the corner of Hills Road and Brooklands Avenue, which provide subsidised homes for independent retired people.

Mr Wood and two other residents contacted the council to ask for parking permits in the Shaftesbury area, which includes Brooklands Avenue.

However, Mr Wood said the council refused because the almshouses have a Hills Road postcode, meaning he and his friends had to park much further away and walk back.

Cambridge Royal Albert Homes. Picture: David Johnson

“They said ‘we go by the postcode’ and that was it,” said Mr Wood. “I have prostate cancer and I can’t walk vast distances because my feet hurt. If I want to go somewhere out of town I have to cycle to the car because I can’t walk.”

He added: “I have had several bikes stolen. I use the car as little as possible now.”

Two other residents reportedly contacted the council to ask for a permit to allow them to park closer to home, but were also refused.

Mr Wood said he was concerned about one of his neighbours, aged 76, having to walk along Hills Road late in the evening, which he pointed out was often busy at night.

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“Several times she has had to walk nearly a mile back to the home and she’s worried. Her children are worried,” he said.

Both Mr Wood and his neighbour said they often had to park as far as the northern end of Panton Street, almost three-quarters of a mile from their Hills Road homes.

“We wanted parking in the Shaftesbury area but the whole place has one postcode and they [the council] were adamant,” he said. “We got fed up with them and gave up the ghost.

“Just give me a parking permit for me and my neighbour. It’s only a piece of paper.

“They have got a duty of care to senior citizens. I haven’t told anyone about this who didn’t think it was stupid. It would be very nice if public employees showed some sort of flexibility to the public.”

A Cambridgeshire County Council spokesperson said: “Resident parking schemes are brought in following feedback from the local community. We will be looking into the matter further.”